The young Booker adopted his stepfather’s Christian name as his surname and thus Booker T Washington became the name he would spend his life being recognised as. At the age of eleven the young Booker was engaged as houseboy to the wife of a coal mine owner who permitted him to attend school during the winter months for one hour a day, thus Booker’s educational journey began.
Washington knows how to overcome challenges through hard work, which is another reason why his philosophy is better than W.E.B. Dubois. Booker T. Washington was able to overcome the dumb slave stereotype when he went to school, while it wasn't common for African Americans to go to school. While W.E.B DuBois went to school, he was able to get a scholarship and was able to go to an all-black school. For example, in 1872 Booker T Washington had the opportunity to go to Tuskegee Institute but didn't have the money to pay, but since he knew how to overcome challenges through hard work, he worked as a cleaner to pay it off. "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that, one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."
Booker T Washington writes the book “Up From Slavery”; in this book, he writes about being born a slave and growing up battling to get his education after the Civil War. He talks about the battle and speeches he had given to try to express the necessity of the Negros to be equal. “I tried to emphasize the fact that while the Negro should not be deprived by unfair means of the franchise…and that no race without these elements could permanently succeed.” (Washington 208). Washington is saying that many Negros were denied rights due to their color, and in fact, he felt that the Congress should help out.
Even though Booker went to school, he urged blacks to get economically advanced. He wanted blacks to work, get money, and
and was a janitor to pay for school funds. This is the background of Booker T. Washington. Many believe that DuBois’s philosophy is more effective for achieving equality for African-Americans, but he does not understand life in Georgia. Booker T. Washington had a more effective strategy because he had experience with slave owners and it was safer for African-Americans. Washington's plan will have a bigger impact on African-American
In an era where African Americans were caught in the middle of an awkward transition between slavery and unrestricted freedom, few voices could rise above the noise to lead Blacks to a better future. Booker T. Washington, a former slave himself, found that voice. Approaching contemporary issues through a realistic lens, Washington saw Black empowerment in the world of industry rather than in the world of politics. He saw solutions in brotherhood among diverse cultures, a necessity for a nation torn apart by extreme polarization, and understood the importance of training the first generations of free blacks for the workforce. In this sense, Washington established himself as a true visionary.
Regardless of the southern whites who feared that education would give blacks “false notions of equality,” Reconstruction governments began to build a comprehensive public school system. Several black “academies” offered more advanced education and grew into an important network of black colleges and universities. Booker T. Washington was the chief spokesman for the importance of education, having worked his way out of poverty after acquiring an education. He strongly believed in expanding the network of black colleges and institutes since education was vital to the future of their people (Doc 7). Washington urged African Americans to adopt the standards of the white middle class to win the respect of the white population.
Booker T.’s philosophy consisted of economic independence, self-reliance, and higher education for African Americans. Booker T. largely believed that economic empowerment is what was needed for African Americans to be able to advance in many fields. This quote shows what was important to Booker T. and what he believed was key to uplift the African American community, not just financially, but as well as mentally. Washington believed that economic empowerment was essential for racial uplift and advocated for African Americans to focus on practical skills and entrepreneurship to advance within the existing social structure. His Tuskegee Institute became a model for vocational education, training African Americans in trades and agriculture.
Booker T. Washington was an African-American civil rights activist that established Tuskegee University. Booker T. Washington was born a slave and at the age of nine he was freed, thanks to the emancipation that was passed. Washington always wanted to have a good education and eventually be economically successful because most African-Americans didn’t have those privileges. As a result of this Washington worked very hard as a janitor and a teacher of an elementary school to gain his wealth, so he could eventually lead a university. In America, at the time when Washington was “building” his university, former slaves couldn’t get successful because white people didn’t want African-Americans to be better than them and/or that white people were more wealthy from birth; therefore, they were more qualified for a certain job.
These two individuals have varying views on the education of black Americans. Booker T Washington took the view that proper higher education made for the betterment of the black community. He believed that taking pride in one’s race and becoming responsible citizens is what would help the black Americans against the racial discrimination they received. He also helped to create black higher education. The main difference between these two arguments is that one focused on education while the other focused more on social action.
Jordan Thomas February 27, 2024 Period 1 Mrs. Andrews Booker T. Washington I was an American educator, author, and advisor prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was born into slavery in Virginia in 1856, but went on to become one of the most influential African American leaders of my time. I was the founder and first president of the Tuskegee Institute, a historically black college in Alabama. I believe in the importance of education and vocational training to uplift the African American community.
Booker T. Washington urged that African Americans should accept the fact that they didn’t have as many rights as whites. He was privately against Jim Crow Laws and racial violence, but believed there would be a time for no more racial discrimination. He believed there was a time for everything, and that that time shouldn’t be used fighting, but for improving African Americans economic skills to show that they deserved civil rights. Washington promoted the economic development of blacks. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial and farming skills and the cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift.
E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington debated whether to confront or appease racist attitudes in the United States. As segregation regimes took hold in the South in the 1890s with the tacit approval of the rest of the country, many African Americans found a champion in Booker T. Washington and adopted his self-help autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901), as their guide book to improve fortunes. Washington portrayed his own life in such a way as to suggest that even the most disadvantaged of black people could attain dignity and prosperity in the South by providing themselves valuable, productive members of society deserving of fair and equal treatment before the law. A classic American success story, Up from Slavery solidified Washington’s reputation as the most eminent African American of the new century. Yet Washington’s primacy was soon challenged.
Up From Slavery, Novel is An autobiography of Booker T Washington. He has expressed and showcased his struggles for the freedom of blacks in the society. The opening chapters deals primarily with Booker T. Washington's childhood and his atrocious days in slavery. He sets the tone for his memoir with vivid descriptions of the conditions of his domestic life, the conditions under which he lived from the time of his birth till the end of the civil war. The civil war was over and gave them happiness of being free.
Going to school is extremely important. It keeps people in the know and full of knowledge to successfully make their way through life’s complications. Much of it has to do with self-education, which is essentially teaching oneself how to do things. When someone goes to school, they are not necessarily teaching themselves, they are looking for a professional instructor who will teach them. There are two ways in which this can be achieved; one way involves going to a physical place such as a school building or collage campus to learn.
